Ruth J Jamieson created artwork and designs in a variety of themes influenced by interests in nature, spirit, science and fantasy.

The garage was up

and ready for cladding. With one exception, the garage door header.

We had chosen to put in a double wide door instead of the two single doors that were specified in the original plans. That meant we needed to put a header across the 16 foot wide opening to support the weight of the roof. I made the header of two pieces of 2 x 12 lumber about 17 feet long and with ½” spacers between.

That meant the header was an awkward to handle 170 lbs or about 120 lbs more than I should lift by myself.
Unfortunately I was by myself.
I could lift it a few inches off the ground.
Unfortunately it needed to sit 7 feet above the floor.

I had had the presence of mind to construct the header right in front of the door opening so I didn’t have to drag it too far to get it in place.
Since I could only lift it a short distance I figured I could raise it in steps.

header lift – not to scale

I drove a 3 ½” nail part way into the frame of the garage and lifted one end of the header on top of the nail.
Next I drove a nail a few inches higher on the other side of the door opening and raised the header to rest on the nail. Because the wood had been cut to fit on top of the Jack studs which were between the King studs, I could only angle the header up a small amount before it would not reach the nail so I continued lifting each side a few inches each time.

Progress

It was slow going but it was progress.
It wasn’t scary until I realized that I had a very loosely held 170 lb block of wood nearly 7 feet off the ground.
It did occur to me that being hit by this falling header might void my warranty.

Remember: This is NOT a How To blog. It is a how we did it blog. Take precautions, get help and if you don’t know how to do it, find out first.

Once the header was up on the Jack studs I nailed it in place and breathed a sigh of relief.

After that workout, putting the cladding on would be a breeze or so I thought.

After seeing my technical drawings some people ask me if I am an artist. To these people I say yes and offer prints at a reasonable price. Normal people can buy art here…